Postgraduate in 3D Printing Architecture

Presentation

The Postgraduate in 3D Printing Architecture is a 6-month long intensive programme in the field of additive manufacturing of sustainable architecture. Between the use of advanced technology for construction and the desire to develop a holistic design approach to architecture, we engage with different areas of research that include robotic manufacturing, material research and performance-based design. The programme seeks to develop technological and architectural solutions in collaboration with Industry partners to answer the current needs and challenges of our habitat.
It is a programme of applied research. Rather than imagining an architecture for a long-term future, our aim is to apply state of the art technology to today’s construction paradigm. It is axed around the continuity of the development of a body of research long explored in the Institute together with our industry partners.
The course runs as a partially collective programme with a mixed group of researchers of IAAC’s Master second years and other specialized students with interest in 3d printing, in eco-friendly material research or in the field of housing. The course is structured in different phases: Learn, a series of exercises to gain knowledge into the topic followed by Explore, an explorative phase through research and finally Demonstrate, a divided into Project Studio: a design competition and conceptual planning followed by a Large Scale Prototype construction: the construction of a 1:1 prototype that challenges the use of earthen architecture fragments in the built environment.
The program proposes a steep learning curve into all aspects of this construction technology: design with its potential and limitations, to master the computational design tools, to understand and research materials and their sustainable value, to engage and use with robotic technologies. This range of skills as well as the knowledge of a new design methodology is increasingly demanded by architectural and engineering studios, construction companies as well as in state of the art research centers worldwide.
This program has been created for innovative thinking architects, engineers and designers willing to acquire the necessary skills to start being, as of today, the change-makers of tomorrow!

Coordinators and teaching staff